Requirements of A Interior Designer
What Do I Need To Be A Interior Designer?
The first thing that you are going to need if you want to be an interior designer is the passion for it. You must ask yourself is whether or not designing homes and/or properties is something that you could feel passionate about. To find out ask, yourself these questions.
- Do you constantly rearrange the furniture in your own home?
- Do you often have ideas about friends and families homes, and what would make them look better?
- Are you finding that people often ask your opinion about their own homes, and what you think may make it look better?
- Do you like planning the rearrangement of your home before you do it?
- When decorating your own home, do you find yourself wondering how best to incorporate colors into your space?
If you answered yes to any or all of these questions, than you already have the passion to become an interior designer. These questions merely touched on the very thing that drew you to this book in the first place. It just helped you realize that you were right in doing so.
The second thing that may need to become an interior designer is the interest. This basically explores whether or not your actual interest is genuine. Many people consider a great many careers before they develop a genuine interest in choosing one. We know that you have the passion, but does that passion mean that you have enough interest to follow through? I have some more questions for you to answer if you really want to know if the interest is really there for you.
- Do you feel the need to learn how best to coordinate the colors in your room before you seek to change them?
- Do you seek outside advice from professionals on how best to accent a particular object or color?
- Do you seek to know the history behind a particular style of décor when you notice one?
- Do you find yourself wondering what sort of planning went in to the creation of a glorious room you've been in?
- Would you prefer to read a design magazine above any other? (Modern Living, or Country Style Home)
- Do you think that Martha Stewart is nothing compared to you?
Again, a yes answer to any of these questions means a yes to your interest. But there is another aspect of interior design that must be covered. You may wish to be a certified interior designer. If that is the case, you will need to get a formal education in this field.
College and University
For a formal education in interior design, it is best to go to an accredited College or University. You must ask about this because some schools are not accredited and you will walk away from that school with a piece of paper that says that you took the course, but you will still not have the proper credentials. Therefore, you will not be a licensed interior designer. Here is a list of some of the courses you can expect to take if you choose to get certified as a designer.
- Drawing
- Building construction
- Drafting
- History of design
- Furniture design
- Architecture
- Auto CAD
- Project management
- Design
- Computer aided Design
Of course there are many more courses that are a part of becoming a certified designer, but this at least gives you an idea of where you might start. You will also have to have certain high school courses to your credit before you should consider going to college or university to study design. These are:
- Mathematics 4 years
- English 4 years
- Physics 1 year
- History/Social studies 1 year
- Computer Science 1 year
- Architectural Drawing 1 year
- Shop class 1 year
Tuition at any one of these schools can be quite expensive. You can expect to spend anywhere between $8,000 a year to $15,000 a year. A general certification course will run for four years. Getting certified could cost you anywhere from $32,000 to $60,000. Of course, financial aid is always available for those that need assistance.
If these numbers and time frames scare you don't worry, there are alternatives to this type of formal schooling. There are also cheaper alternatives to getting certified. You can try any of the following.
Trade Schools
There are many trade schools out there that offer Interior Design as a course. Some of these schools are accredited and can give you the certification that you need. (Know that your credentials will not be as high or recognizable as those from a College or University) These schools do offer many of the same courses but they are condensed, and blended together to suit a shorter course duration.
You can generally expect the entire course to last from one year or two. The tuition is generally half of what you could expect to pay at a College or University. Your tuition could cost as little as $8,000 for two years or $4,000 for one. Materials are generally included in the tuition, and financial aid is also available.
Some Trade Schools do not have a set schedule for the finish of a program. Some will let you go at your own pace and finish as quickly or slowly as you need to. If you chose to go this route, be sure to check to see that it is an accredited school, and ask what is included in your tuition. Also ask what type of certification you will receive.
Online Design Programs
Not everyone is comfortable with the idea of going to a school for Interior Design. Some may prefer to learn how to do it from the comfort of their own home. This method is not recommended if you are trying to become certified, but if you just want to get the basic knowledge that you are required to know, this method is fine.
There are literally thousands upon thousands of courses for interior design that are offered online. Finding one that has the right information you will want to learn will require some research on your part, but it's not that difficult. Course prices for internet schools of design can start as low as $19.00 and go as high as $500.00.
Some online courses that are offered through legitimate Colleges and Universities are much cheaper than campus courses and offer the correct certification that you will need. Generally, these courses require that you take your exams on campus or in a monitored way of some sort. Again, research is needed to ensure that you are not being scammed.
There are some alternatives to taking any formal courses at all. This called -self teaching-. This is where you will study the necessary information that you will need to do Interior Design as a profession, but you will not be certified.
Self Teaching
Teaching yourself to learn any field takes a lot of discipline and a great deal of interest. You have to be a motivated person and have the ability to focus solely on your task, but it can be done. There are many Interior Designers that are working without any formal education. They are simply going on intuition and talent. It is rare to learn all of the things that you need to know by teaching yourself, but it a possibility. These are some of the things that you will need in order to teach yourself interior design.
- Learn the proper terms from various books on interior design.
- Observe the many techniques and trends from circulating magazines and catalogs.
- Teach yourself to calculate the amounts of paint and wallpaper need to per wall by talking to your local professionals.
- Get as much practice as you can in your own home or at others'
- Use your local library or bookstore to help you brush up on the proper ways of incorporating space and a balance of space.
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